2021 Colorado Code
Title 42 - Vehicles and Traffic
Article 2 - Drivers' Licenses
Part 1 - Drivers' Licenses
§ 42-2-101. Licenses for Drivers Required

1. Except as otherwise provided in part 4 of this article for commercial drivers, no person shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state unless such person has been issued a currently valid driver's or minor driver's license or an instruction permit by the department under this article.
2. No person shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state if such person's driver's or minor driver's license has been expired for one year or less and such person has not been issued another such license by the department or by another state or country subsequent to such expiration.
3. No person shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state unless such person has in his or her immediate possession a current driver's or minor driver's license or an instruction permit issued by the department under this article.
4. No person who has been issued a currently valid driver's or minor driver's license or an instruction permit shall drive a type or general class of motor vehicle upon a highway in this state for which such person has not been issued the correct type or general class of license or permit.
5. No person who has been issued a currently valid driver's or minor driver's license or an instruction permit shall operate a motor vehicle upon a highway in this state without having such license or permit in such person's immediate possession.
6. A charge of a violation of subsection (2) of this section shall be dismissed by the court if the defendant elects not to pay the penalty assessment and, at or before the defendant's scheduled court appearance, exhibits to the court a currently valid driver's or minor driver's license.
7. A charge of a violation of subsection (5) of this section shall be dismissed by the court if the defendant elects not to pay the penalty assessment and, at or before the defendant's scheduled court appearance, exhibits to the court a currently valid license or permit issued to such person or an officially issued duplicate thereof if the original is lost, stolen, or destroyed.
8. The conduct of a driver of a motor vehicle which would otherwise constitute a violation of this section is justifiable and not unlawful when:
   1. It is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation occasioned or developed through no conduct of said driver and which is of sufficient gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability and urgency of avoiding the injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented by this section; or
   2. The applicable conditions for exemption, as set forth in section 42-2-102, exist.

9. The issue of justification or exemption is an affirmative defense. As used in this subsection (9), “affirmative defense” means that, unless the state's evidence raises the issue involving the particular defense, the defendant, to raise the issue, shall present some credible evidence on that issue. If the issue involved in an affirmative defense is raised, then the liability of the defendant must be established beyond a reasonable doubt as to that issue as well as all other elements of the traffic infraction.
10. Any person who violates any provision of subsection (1) or (4) of this section is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense. Any person who violates any provision of subsection (2), (3), or (5) of this section commits a class B traffic infraction.
11. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a second or subsequent conviction under subsection (1) or (4) of this section, when a person receiving such conviction has not subsequently obtained a valid Colorado driver's license or the correct type or general class of license, shall result in the assessment by the department of six points against the driving privilege of the person receiving such second or subsequent conviction.

History. Source: L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2114, § 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 2000: (1) to (6) amended, p. 1349, § 14, effective July 1, 2001.

This title was numbered as numerous articles within chapter 13, C.R.S. 1963. The provisions of this title were amended with relocations in 1994, effective January 1, 1995, resulting in the addition, relocation, and elimination of sections as well as subject matter. For amendments to this title prior to 1994, consult the Colorado statutory research explanatory note and the table itemizing the replacement volumes and supplements to the original volume of C.R.S. 1973 beginning on page vii in the front of this volume. Former C.R.S. section numbers are shown in editor's notes following those sections that were relocated. For a detailed comparison of this title, see the comparative tables located in the back of the index.

For the provisions providing for the manufacture of license plates and highway signs by state correctional facilities, see article 24 of title 17; for registration and use of snowmobiles, see article 14 of title 33; for the regulation of commercial driving schools, see article 2 of this title; for provisions relating to highway safety, see article 5 of title 43; for licensing and regulation of automobile dealers, see part 1 of article 20 of title 44; for the antimonopoly financing law, see part 2 of article 20 of title 44; for the Sunday closing law, see part 3 of article 20 of title 44.

For disposition of fines and penalties under parts 1, 2, and 4 of this article, see § 42-1-217 .

For the short title of this part 1 (“Uniform Safety Code of 1935”), see § 42-4-101 .

For article, “There Must Be Fifty Ways to Lose Your (Driver's) License”, see 22 Colo. Law. 2385 .

Principal purpose of this section and § 42-2-110 is the promotion of public safety by assuring that drivers are qualified to operate their vehicles. Tomasi v. Thompson, 635 P.2d 538 (Colo. 1981).

Interpretation of § 42-2-130 (3) in context of other relevant sections. § 42-2-130 (3) , which authorizes the department to extend the period of suspension or revocation whenever drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked commit additional traffic offenses, should be read and considered in the context of other relevant provisions of article 2 of the uniform motor vehicle law. Allen v. Charnes, 674 P.2d 378 (Colo. 1984).

Police have authority to make custodial arrest for driving without a license under this section and § 42-4-1501 . People v. Meredith, 763 P.2d 562 (Colo. 1988) (overruling People v. Clyne, 189 Colo. 412 , 541 P.2d 71 (1975) and People v. Stark, 682 P.2d 1240 (Colo. App. 1984)).

Police had authority under this section to arrest defendant for driving without a valid Colorado driver's license and the arrest did not violate the fourth amendment. Defendant produced a Mexican driver's license but not a valid Colorado license. Although it was unclear from the record whether the Mexican driver's license was authentic, testimony reflected that defendant had been present in the United States for more than thirty days and therefore was not exempt under § 42-2-102 from obtaining a Colorado driver's license. United States v. Rubio-Sepulveda, 237 F. Supp. 3d 1116 (D. Colo. 2017 ).

Search of an automobile incident to an arrest for driving without a license under this section and § 42-4-1501 is lawful. People v. Meredith, 763 P.2d 562 (Colo. 1988).

Applied in People v. Pinyan, 190 Colo. 304 , 546 P.2d 488 (1976); Ruth v. County Court, 198 Colo. 6 , 595 P.2d 237 (1979).